Thursday, February 07, 2008

Bulls, Bears...and Ducks

In a Bull Market you can do no wrong.
There are more buyers than sellers, and unless the CEO is an axe-murder or parties to excess in togas, the stock is going to go ever upward. The rising tide lifts all boats, and everyone is piling on.

In a Bear Market, the axe-murder is sentenced to a lethal injection, the toga slipped at an importune moment, and there are more sellers than buyers.
Last one off the barge is a rotten egg.

We’re somewhere in between, right now, depending upon the day you look at. It’s the final year of the current administration, so all bets are off until November. Really, depending upon the outcome of the elections, you have to figure out which bullet to dodge.

Democrats coming to town mean higher taxes and more welfare programs. Republicans coming to town mean lower taxes (we hope) and probably more war mongering. Which way must you duck to take advange?
I call this a Duck Market.

Things aren’t necessarily “ducky” in a Duck Market. Sometimes you have to settle for the crumbs on the ground after the rest of the flock has passed over.
That’s okay.
Know what happens to flocks of ducks during duck season?
BLAM!
Exactly, and you don’t want to be shot down.

Watch and listen to what the other ducks are saying and doing.
There are some pretty big ducks in the pond right now, too, all honking and hooting about this and that. (So many apropos metaphors, so little space…)
Take notes, don’t let your feathers get ruffled, and when November comes, you’ll know how to lay-in for the season ahead.

Here at the new, temporary broadcast facilities of The BizRadio Network, we work in an idyllic setting. There are gleaming skyscrapers separated by tranquil green spaces filled with trees and grass, ponds and fountains.
There are also lots of water fowl.

One of our associates here recently rescued four ducklings from an aggressive hawk that was thinking duck soup would taste pretty good. She’s bought them up here to The BizRadio Broadcasting Complex and Deli, where I suppose we’ll have to add another use:
Hatchery. (Rookery sounds a little counter-productive for attracting new clientele.)

The ducklings have become the un-official BizRadio mascots. They huddle down in a shoe box, lined with a t-shirt from the underwear drawer of their rescuer. We have all become surrogate hens, feeding and caring for them in a corner cubicle.
Guess there’s a nesting instinct in all of us.

What do you think—should we hold a naming contest for the four ducklings? Submit your suggestions here.
Winner gets to clean out the shoebox on Monday morning, plus bragging rights.

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